Sima Ai
Jin Dynasty imperial prince
Sima Ai or Sima Yi (司馬乂) (277 – 19/20 March 304), courtesy name Shidu (士度), formally Prince Li of Changsha (長沙厲王), was a Jin dynasty imperial prince who briefly served as regent for his half-brother Emperor Hui. He was the fifth of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Princes. Of the eight princes, he alone received praises from historians, for his attempt to reform government and his courtesy to Emperor Hui, who was developmentally disabled. According to the Book of Jin, Sima Ai was a strong and resolute man and was seven chi and five cun tall (approximately 1.84 metres).
Life
Sima Ai was Emperor Wu's seventeenth son, born of the same mother as Sima Wei, the Prince of Chu (Lady Shen); their elder full-brother Sima Jing, Prince Huai of Chengyang, had died in 270 before they were born. He was granted the title Prince of Changsha in 22 December 289. When his father died in May 290, Sima Ai was praised by many for his display of filial piety. When Sima Wei, at the command of Emperor Hui's wife Empress Jia Nanfeng, killed the regents Sima Liang the Prince of Ru'nan and Wei Guan, Sima Ai participated. Subsequently, when Empress Jia claimed that Sima Wei had forged the edict and executed him, Sima Ai was demoted to the lesser title of Prince of Changshan on 19 September 291. Despite this, during the next decade, he received renown for his decisiveness, talents, and humility.
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